


To Hunt Wounded Prey

by HeroHikara



Category: Final Fantasy XIV
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Just two dudes sitting across a campfire talking about their feelings, M/M, Male Miqo'te (Final Fantasy XIV), Male Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), Miqo'te Warrior of Light (Final Fantasy XIV), WoL tells Zenos how they feel about his stunt at the Menagerie, Zenos having feelings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-27
Updated: 2019-12-27
Packaged: 2021-02-26 07:55:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 740
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21979924
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HeroHikara/pseuds/HeroHikara
Summary: “Because everyone deserves a chance, even you. I know it sounds foolish, but I would rather give everyone I met a chance, even if it hurt me in the end."Or:Hero and Elezenos have a heart to heart while camping, set after the Royal Menagerie, before Thancred gets pulled to the first by the Exarch. Mostly Banter
Relationships: Zenos yae Galvus/Warrior of Light
Kudos: 21





	To Hunt Wounded Prey

“Do you have any idea how much I’ve thought about you since the Royal Garden?” Hero sat down, massaging his temples as he looked across the fire at the blond Elezen before him. “I kept replaying that night in my mind, a little bit faster, a little bit more prepared. Better spoken, I don’t know. Some nights it played out the same, I saw blood, I saw you go limp. I heard your last words and felt empty. Some nights you stopped.” His smile grew faint as icey eyes stared into the dance of the light. “Allowed Lyse and Alphinaud to take you alive. You didn’t look at them, only me. You held my gaze the entire time, our eyes didn’t part for a moment.”

“One night I stopped them from taking you too. I don’t know what I was thinking that night, but I’d been at the bottle a bit. Lyse went to grab you and I stopped her, told her you were mine to deal with. I guess I felt possessive that night.” His shoulders bounced in a semblance of a chuckle, “We’re a fair pair, aren’t we? An obedient beast and a feral hunter.” Concern knit his brows together, eyes lifting from the flames to meet Zenos’ once more. “I can sense the echo in you like I sense it in Fordola- it feels twisted and sick. Are you alright?”

Finally Zenos spoke, slowly at first, as if unfamiliar with the sound of his own voice. “In my twenty-six summers I do not believe I have ever heard that question directed at me. Am I alright? No. I expected to perish, to finally be done- with everything. I have been an experiment from the very day I learned how to manipulate stored aethers to simulate having control over mine own. I do not believe I know the meaning of being alright.” Even if Hero wasn’t holding his gaze, Zenos continued to stare straight at him, watching how the Miqo’te moved across the campfire.

Ever the hunter, he continued to keep Hero off-balance, continuing his train of thought before the Miqo’te could spare a chance to cut in. “You claim a possessive streak, but for the life of me I cannot imagine why. Even in this stolen body, I am a monster. A tool of war and conquest, honed and primed to kill. You- I have observed you. Watched you from afar. You feed children with money from your own pocket. You do anything asked of you, no matter how trivial or difficult. You spend your time on people who are undeserving of it, beneath you. It would be foolish of you to be possessive of me, to spit in the face of your allies to spare me. Why would you?”

The words cut deep, proving Zenos’ wit was as honed as his blades. The answer on Hero’s tongue was simple and complicated to explain at the same time, but he had to try. “Because everyone deserves a chance, even you. I know it sounds foolish, but I would rather give everyone I met a chance, even if it hurt me in the end. Better to be open to everyone and suffer a few times than to close myself off and suffer in loneliness and silence all the time. So yes, I would. I would have spared you that day, purely because you called me your friend.”

“I also called you my enemy.” The former prince was quick to retort, eyes narrowing as the fire made them glow like cerulium. “My enemy, my friend.”

“I accepted you, but clearly first you need to accept yourself.” The words made Zenos tense, and Hero couldn’t help but laugh softly, “I haven’t changed my mind, I would still like to be both friend and confidant, but only if you still want me.”

The offer hung in the air for what felt like hours of Zenos listening to the quiet crackle of the flames devouring the wood Hero had gathered for them. As the last whole log hissed while the fire cracked it open to get at the tender wood flesh inside, Zenos finally stood. With a single graceful gesture he parted the flap of his tent, glancing back at Hero once more before vanishing into the entrance.

With a soft smile Hero doused the fire with water drawn from a cluster and followed after, intent on making up for lost time.


End file.
